Tag: Superbowl

Thomas Harris – Black Sunday | Review

Title: Black Sunday

Author: Thomas Harris

Type: Fiction

Page Count: 320

Rating: 2.75/5

I was expecting good things from this, purely because I’ve read the Hannibal novels and so it had a lot to live up to. In fact, as far as I’m aware, this was the only Thomas Harris novel that I hadn’t read other than his most recent one.

This one was actually published way back in 1975 when Harris was in his thirties, and I have to say that it shows. He attempted to write a sort of fast-paced political thriller, but it doesn’t really work so well when you compare it to some of the newer novels to have hit the market in the last twenty years.

There’s also the fact that this deals with terrorism but was written over a quarter of a century before 9/11. Some of the stuff that he wrote is still relevant, but a lot of it has been superseded by events, and it definitely feels like a product of its time. The writing isn’t particularly good either, and nor is the plotting. In fact, it just comes across as a pretty generic book, something pretty forgettable as far as I’m concerned.

There is a saving grace though, and that’s the complex antagonist with his Vietnam flashbacks and his plot to blow up the Superbowl using an explosive-laden blimp. In fact, I’m kind of surprised that it was so dull considering the subject matter. It could have been awesome. It just wasn’t.

I’m not sure that I’d say that it’s a bad novel either, I just think that it’s very much a product of the time it was written and published in. I think it would have been good enough at the time, but I don’t think there’s much point reading it now. I would have given up if I hadn’t already read Harris’ other stuff.

Learn more about Black Sunday.


Gary Vaynerchuk – Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook | Review

Title:  Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook

Author: Gary Vaynerchuk

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 195

Rating: 8/10

 

Gary Vaynerchuk - Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook

Gary Vaynerchuk – Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook

 

I was lucky enough to win tickets to the launch event for this, Vaynerchuk’s third foray in to authorship as an authority on social media. As well as including a Q & A with the author himself, attendees were also given a free copy of this book, and I love free books.

Here, we have something a little different to Vaynerchuk’s previous work – in JJJRH, he scrutinises the micro-content pushed out by dozens of major brands. Sometimes, it works – Oreo’s Superbowl tweet is a good example of this. Other times, it doesn’t – you just have to look at the sad state of some of the content pushed out by half-arsed marketing managers who refuse to dedicate serious time and effort to social media.

You’ll learn a few things about what works and where (context, as always, is key), and you’ll also feel inspired by some of the great work being done by other community managers. Start jabbing straight away, so your audience is primed and ready for a right hook.

 

Gary Vaynerchuk

Gary Vaynerchuk

 

Click here to buy Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook.